Bahama Street

One of those jobs you don't know if it constitutes eternal boredom or eternal opportunity to the holder. Watching out for the scofflaws attempting to sneak park in Fausto's parking lot on Fleming Street which is for grocery customers ONLY:

Other things are forbidden in downtown Key West, sometimes in not one but two languages. I never put Rusty to urinate anywhere, rest assured. 

Old world charm still exists:

Winter sunshine, lovely:

Bahama Street connecting distant Southard to Fleming Street at this end.

Duval Street seen down the alley on the 600 block where Onlywood has it's original location serving Italian food. 

Warm enough for bare feet apparently, though not for me.

Winter sun: my favorite.

Winter Flowers

I read one of those strange articles in the newspaper that took some time to digest and I still struggle to understand the meaning. You read words and think you get it but upon reflection you realize you have no clue what the words mean.

I have written here previously about the city's decision to shut down the Duval Mall for evaluation next February. The argument is it isn't working out which is a surprise as lots of people seemed to have enjoyed it. Perhaps the businesses outside the 2 block pedestrian area got fed up. Which, were it the case would seem to be an indication perhaps the experiment should be expanded. 

In the latest odd moment at city hall the mayor says she wants to reduce the number of city commission meetings. She says she wants to meet once a month instead of every other Tuesday. The weird bit is the idea of reducing the number of meetings to increase public access and ease staff workloads. 

"By meeting during the day, the Key West City Commission would have more time to discuss important issues and receive more input from staff. Currently, the commission has to vote to extend its meeting if it doesn’t end by 10 p.m.

If people are unable to attend, the city has set up an “e-comment” portal on its website that allows people to email their comments to commission agenda items, Johnston said.

Having it once a month instead of twice would also give staff more time to work on items before bringing them to the commission, Johnston said."

At the moment the city meets in the evening to allow citizens to attend easily and the commission has to vote to prolong meetings after 10 pm so they don't accidentally drag on into the night endlessly.

Daytime meetings the mayor says would allow the commission to discuss things at greater length and allow staff more time to join the discussions. I suppose all too often the residents of the city (I'm not one) don't have that much to say. However I know there are times when people get seriously miffed and crowd the evening meetings. 

I suppose in the end the city commission will do as it pleases and in its defense the mayor did point out the county commission already meets during the day. Once a month doesn't seem very often though.

For me Key West is a place of work and recreation, of street walks filled with light and color in a kaleidoscope that never seems to bore me. Spanish moss:

Fleur de lis that reminded me of my recent visit to New Orleans where they like the distant connection to the French Bourbon royal family.

May the sun never stop shining. Carbon dioxide levels could happily be reduced of course.

Light On Water

I will confess straight up I am not a huge fan of sunrise photography and it must be obvious by now that there are tons of "Sunrise and Sunset Over Key West" pictures plastered all over the web. So I opt out! The thing is I have no idea what a sunrise represents except a band of colors. I see no art and no struggle in trying to express a sunrise in some interesting fashion. I suppose if Glamis Castle were the subject illuminated by a  rising sun....or something...but this is the location of my favorite (and only) hill in the Lower Keys. The Old Bahia Honda Bridge dirt railway ramp has now become a limestone hill but the sunrise especially on a  cloudless  morning is what it is.

 I liked this one, another reminder that most trees killed by Hurricane Irma are dead dead and not coming back. The half dead trees are sprouting leaves but the dead dead ones are firewood nowadays.

A mad thought - a black and white sunrise. I acted on a whim, impulsively as usual but the result I quite liked as I sat and waited for Rusty to finish crashing through the bushes. 

 As we walked along the bike path separated from traffic by a convenient cement barrier I noticed a man sharing the space with me. He apparently likes sunrises a good deal more than me as he was all equipped with a  tripod on a precarious rocky island ready for any surprise moves by Apollo on his ascent into the heavens (I mean the sun coming up).

I was grateful to him, as he gave me a sunrise story to photograph and he looked like a print from an early book on the art of photography.  

 With the sun safely up and the photographer hot footing it back to the car with apparently dry feet I turned my attention to a  bird on a  rock. And give the pelican credit it had chosen an excellent spot to perch with scenic views far and wide.

A  sparkling crisp morning it was and a thoroughly enjoyable moment unless you were a dog more interested in dead seaweed in which case any day with a reasonable low tide is a great day.

 We followed the pelicans examples and made like leaves and blew. 

 On the subject this is a much better way I think to enjoy the act of a rising sun.

 But once risen the shadows are black and the sunlight is bright and I like that.

 Except Rusty was rendered almost invisible so here he is relaxing after his labors.

Utila Lane

There is no such place as Utila Lane in Key West. There very well could be of course as Utila is a small island off the north Coast of Honduras in the Western Caribbean. It is most famous for being an English speaking island in a Spanish speaking country, and for its diving. I call this alley between Elizabeth Street and Bill Butler Park Utila Lane because it reminds me of the cement paths on Utila, so small it has almost no cars and just two roads.

This is a picture I took in March 2009 when my Labrador rolled by and alerted this yard bound dog to her presence. He has always been there ever since. 

And is still there and still barking when you stroll by even without a dog apparently.  Time passes for all of us. I wonder if he misses all those walks he never took.

 Utila Lane in all its winter glory: 

The alley pops out into the traffic zone on the side of Bill Butler Park... 

...which park has a small wood of gumbo limbo trees  in the middle. 

Bill Butler died in 1984 and was considered the "King of the Junkanoos" which are carnival style celebrants in the Bahamas. They still mark Junkanoo every year in the Family Islands which are of course tied by tradition to families in the Keys. 

From the Guardian newspaper: 

Junkanoo is a street parade with music, which traditionally occurs at Christmas.

The name is said to have originated during the slave trade, from John Canoe, a legendary West African chief who was idolized by the slaves. The African workers were allowed three days off, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, and would rush out on the streets to celebrate. The tradition continued after slavery was abolished, with parties taking place in almost every town. Junkanoo was commercialized by the Bahamas government in the 1920s and, last year, the decision was made to hold a Junkanoo Summer Festival on the islands' capital, Nassau, and to extend the party over several weeks.

We hear nothing from the Bahamas now the hurricane recovery is in the less dramatic  phase with billions in damage and  thousands of people displaced from the northern islands. They need tourists more than ever on the undamaged islands and all the Junkanoo they can put on. Which is not to say we don't all have more Junkanoo and more hurricanes in our futures.

Mangrove Dawn

The workingman's curse is having a dog who knows what time you normally wake up and on those rare days when the schedule allows for a lie-in no one tells the dog so promptly at 3:45 he's very ready to go explore.

With official sunrise close to seven am there's no point in getting to the trail head before 6:15 or so but no amount of rational explanation seems to reassure Rusty. On a work day I am restricted to walking him in moderately well lit places where I don't risk tripping and breaking my neck. On my day off when I could indulge the benefit that is sleep, as the poet put it,  Rusty is there always  ready to make sure I tumble out of bed at the regular time of 3:45 am, so no extra sleep is allowed. If I listen to him I soon find myself heading into the frigid Keys morning air. If I don't listen to him he pads around the house whining and clicking his nails on the tile until I get up and buy some time with a chew.

“Sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care,

The death of each day's life, sore labor's bath,

Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,

Chief nourisher in life's feast.”

Never mind all that contemplation of sleep - time to go for a walk!

The benefit of that virtue of being an early riser which is enforced on me by my dog is that I get to watch some excellent sunrises among the mangroves. In the good old days when I worked night shift we came out far more often and he seemed to lose interest because perhaps, familiarity did breed contempt. These days he runs with nose down forcing me to keep up an seemly pace. But I do get a chance with the camera. from time to time.

Being out here is an excellent way to cast off the stresses of the night shift and these days I look forward to my days off to find myself deliberately in the wilderness alone with my thoughts and the silence.

Brown leaves among buttonwoods and mangroves are a sign of regeneration but they aren't much to do with seasons as mangroves store salt in their leaves and cast off the sodium filled greenery as a way to enable them to turn ocean water into fresh water for the plant's use. 

And around here there has been a  great deal of salt water as the seasonal extra high tides have kept the trails flooded much of the time. Only salt resistant plants have survived. Salt water immersion is one way to keep your lawn in check.

I cannot say it is really cold as I am out here at down in short sleeved shirt and shorts without a hint of chill, but the air is fresh and crisp and fresh water droplets accumulate overnight.

Eventually even the sun puts in an appearance but not with summer ferocity, when energy sapping humidity soaks a shirt even on a  short walk. It lights up the skies mildly, apologetically.

And far above the other winter migrants, pelicans catch the first rays of the day. This is after all the Florida Keys so sunshine is the natural order of things.  Just as frost most decidedly is not.